A Pakistani immigrant who killed his wife for feeding him lentils should be given a short sentence because the lack of home-style food will make jail 'difficult', a court was told.

Noor Hussein, 75, beat his wife to death with a stick in their New York apartment in 2011, and was convicted of the killing in May.

Earlier the New York Supreme Court heard how he lashed out at Nazar Hussein, 66, because she made him a vegetarian lentil dinner instead of cooking goat.

In papers submitted to the court, prosecutors said: 'The defendant asked [his wife] to cook goat and [his wife] said she made something else.

Fussy eater: Noor Hussein (centre), pictured at the New York Supreme Court, was convicted of killing his wife after she made him the wrong dinner

'The conversation got louder and his wife disrespected defendant by cursing at defendant and saying motherf***** and that the defendant took a wooden stick and hit her with it on her arm and mouth.'

And food again returned to the centre of the trial in arguments over sentencing - when defense lawyers for Hussein said he should be given a shorter sentence because of the hardship of doing without Pakistani food.

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Attorney Julie Clark wrote in papers submitted to court: 'His inability to speak English and his inability to have Pakistani food will make his incarceration even more difficult than the average inmate.'

She argued that on that basis he should be given 15 years in prison, rather than the maximum of 25, the New York Post reported.

Prosecutors dismissed their arguments, saying there were no 'mitigating factors', and said the maximum sentence should be given.

In a hearing yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Matthew D’Emic gave Hussein 18 years, which he said is likely to be a life sentence because of the killer's age.

Wrangles: The court (pictured) heard that the hardship of going without Pakistani food in prison ought to mean Hussein is given a short sentence. He was eventually given 18 years inside

In an emotional speech to the court, given via a Punjabi translator, Hussein denied killing his wife, then begged for death himself.

He said: 'Please do me justice and hang me. Give me electric shock so I can die.'

Earlier in the trial it had been argued that Hussein hadn't meant to kill his wife, and also that his lashing out at her was unremarkable because wife beating is routine in Pakistan.

The court was told gruesome details of the attack, with prosecutor Sabeeha Madni describing how Hussein attacked his wife as she lay in her bed.

She said he left deep lacerations on her head, arms and shoulders, and causing her brain to haemorrhage.

Court papers state hebeat her with a stick that the family had found in the street and used to stir their laundry in a washtub.

He then tried to clean up the blood that splattered onto their bedroom wall before calling his son for help, Madni said.